Method and apparatus for forming a wire tie



s p 1967 M. B. HALL ETAL METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A. WIRE TIE 3sheets sheet 1 Filed May 6, 1965 INVENTORS MARCH/1N0 B. HALL, JOHN P.LONG and EDWARD W SCHULTZ Attorney Sept. 19, 1967 M. B. HALL ETAL METHODAND AfPARATUS FOR FORMING A VII RE TIE 5 Sheets-Sheet Filed May 6, 1965S R L m MHWM M V B60 4 w DM V A HP MNM A MJw NIILIQ wil Sept. 19, 1967M. B. HALL ETA L METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMING A WIRE TIE 3Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 6, 1965 s R 1 m m NAML 0 w M V N mw W 00 NL MAMNA MJ y United States Patent 3,342,223 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR FORMINGA WIRE TIE Marchand B. Hall, Olympia Fields, John P. Long, Park Forest,and Edward W. Schultz, Homewood, 11]., assignors to United States SteelCorporation, a corporation of Delaware Filed May 6, 1965, Ser. No.453,767 Claims. (Cl. 140-71) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Method andapparatus for producing a tie wire having a ring-secured loop in oneend. Apparatus includes a counterbored cylinder having spaced bendingpins upstanding on one end thereof. Hook means reciprocable through thecounterbore of the cylinder are adapted to engage a length of wirepositioned between the bending pins and lying across a ring fitted inthe end of the counterbore of the cylinder. The method includes thesteps of positioning a length of wire between a pair of fixed bendingpegs over a ring, then rotating the pair of pegs to form a substantiallyZ-shape portion in the wire, and then pulling the formed portion of thewire through the ring.

The present invention relates generally to the art of securing lading ona transport vehicle and, more particularly, to a novel method andapparatus for forming a wire tie especially suitable for securing a loadon a railroad flat car equipped with recessed stake pockets.

Prior to our invention, loads to be transported by railroad fiat carswere very often secured on the car by a plurality of spaced wire tiesanchored to the car on each side thereof and extending over the loadtransversely of the car. Usually, each wire tie was made up of twolengths of tie wire which were each secured by one end to stake pocketson opposite sides of the car and had their other ends twisted togetherabove the load to form the wire tie.

The anchored ends of the tie wires were in most cases knotted around theouter walls of the stake pockets. When the car was to be unloaded, thewire ties were severed to free the load and the anchored ends of the tiewires were cut away from the stake pocket walls.

The above-described method ofanchoring the tie wires to the flat carworked satisfactorily with flat car having open-bottom stake pocketsarranged along the outer edges of the car. However, it was notcompletely effective for securing loads on modern flat cars which areprovided with recessed stake pockets in the floor of the car. On cars ofthe latter construction, the anchoring ends of the tie wires wereknotted around a cross pin which extended transversely of the stakepocket adjacent the bottom thereof. Then, when the tie wires were drawntaut and twisted together by a conventional power tool, the knots at theanchoring ends thereof slipped and drew tightly around the pins in therespective stake pockets. This made it extremely difficult to remove theanchored ends of the tie wires from the stake pockets due to thedifliculty of manipulating wire cutters in the narrow confines of thestake pocket to cut the wires free of the pins. As a result, theanchored ends of the wire ties were not removed each time a flat car wasunloaded. The ends of the tie wires remained fastened to the stakepocket pin; and, when the car was next loaded, the new tie wires wereknotted around the pins adjacent the remains of the previous tie wires.This practice was necessarily limited since there was space for onlyfour or five loops of wire around each stake pocket pin. This conditionresulted in serious ICE difficulties and excessive delays in securingflat car loads with wire ties.

It is, accordingly, the primary object of our invention to provide animproved method and apparatus for forming a wire tie whereby one end ofthe tie can be anchored to a flat car recessed stake pocket in such amanner as to be easily and readily removable therefrom when desired.

It is a more specialized object of our invention to provide a wire tiehaving a loop secured by a ring thereover adjacent one end, whereby theone end of the tie can be fastened around a stake pocket pin with anon-slip knot projecting upwardly and outwardly of the stake pocket soas to be easily accessible for cutting and removal.

The above and other objects will become more apparent after referring tothe following specification and attached drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is aplan view showing a length of tie wire in position in theapparatus of the invention prior to bending thereof and formation of aloop therein;

FIGURE 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the tie wire afterbending and prior to formation of a loop therein;

FIGURE 3 is a front elevational view of FIG. 1 with parts broken awayfor clarity;

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but showing the positions of theelements of the invention after a loop has been formed in the tie wire;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevational view with parts broken away for claritytaken substantially along the line V-V of FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 6 is a side elevational view of the ring-secured loop produced bythe method and apparatus of the invention; FIGURE 7 is a bottom view ofFIGURE 6;

FIGURE 8 is a front elevational view showing thetie wire with thering-secured loop formed therein loosely secured to the cross pin of arecessed stake pocket; and

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 8 showing the tie wire of FIGURE 8after tension has been applied thereto.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, reference numeral 2designates a base plate rigidly mounted by one edge in horizontalposition on a fixed support 4 by nutand-bolt means 6. Support 4 may be abench, machine ledge, beam or any other convenient, similar support. Thebase plate 2 is provided with a circular opening therethrough in whichis rotatably mounted, by means of-an anti-friction bearing 8, a cylindermember 10 having a center opening 12 extending axially therethrough. Theupper end of the center opening 12 i counterbored to provide a recess 14for receiving a ring member or washer R, the purpose of which willbecome apparent. A pair of spaced bending pins 16 is upstanding on theupper surface of the cylinder '10 astride the recess 14. A pair ofspaced walls 18 is upstanding on the base plate 2 extending tangentiallyof opposite sides of the upper surface of the cylinder 10.

A hook rod 20 is disposed for axial, reciprocable movement in the centeropening 12, with a portion thereof normally projecting above the uppersurface of the cylinder 10. The projecting portion of the hook rod 20 isformed with a laterally extending recess 22 for engaging a tie wire W.

The lower end of the cylinder 10 is formed with a diametral slot 24 foraccommodating a lever 26 pivoted to the cylinder 10, as at 28, forturning the cylinder. As best shown in FIGURE 3, the lever 26 isprovided with a handle projection 30 on one end to facilitatemanipulation thereof. A link 32 is pivoted at one end to the hook rod 20and at its other end to the lever 26 whereby the hook rod can be movedaxially in the center opening 12 by manipulation of the lever 26.

A guide projection 34 extends from the end of the lever 26 opposite thehandle 30 and cooperates with a substantially cylindrical wall or skirt36, which depends from the base plate 2, to control the movement of thelever 26. The bottom of the wall 36 is formed with spaced shoulders 38and 39 adjacent respective ends thereof which function as abutments forlimiting angular movement of lever 26, and consequently, cylinder toapproximately 115 degrees in a plane parallel with the horizontal planeof the base plate 2. A vertical slot 40 is formed in the wall 36adjacent shoulders 39 for accommodating the guide projection 34 topermit angular movement of the lever 26 in a plane substantially normalto the base plate 2 and consequent reciprocal movement of the hook rod20 axially in the center opening 12 of cylinder 10.

In operation, to form a ring-secured loop adjacent one end of a lengthof the tie wire W, a washer R is placed in the recess 14; and a lengthof pre-straightened and cut tie wire W is laid across the top of thecylinder 10 between the bending pins 16 and between the upstanding walls18, with the recess 22 of hook rod 20 in engagement with the wire at apoint approximately 18 inches from one end. Then the handle 30 isgrasped to turn the cylinder 10 and hook rod 20 approximately 115degrees in clockwise direction from the position shown in FIGURE 1 tothe position shown in FIGURE 2. This action causes the portion of thewire overlying the cylinder 10 to be bent into substantially a Z -shape,forming a pair of substantially right-angled bends in the wire connectedby a straight portion overlying the washer R, as best shown in FIGURE 2.The upstanding walls 18 cooperate with pins 16 and aid in forming theright-angle bend in the wire. At this point, guide projection 34 is inabutting engagement with the shoulder 39 adjacent slot 40 and alignedwith the latter.

The handle 30 is then depressed to pull hook rod 20 downwardly and drawthe wire downwardly through the washer R. This action causes the wire tolift ofl? of the bending pins and form a loop L, secured at its base bythe washer R, as shown in FIGURES 4 and 6. The handle 30 is then raised,and the length of the tie wire with the washer-secured loop L adjacentone end is removed from the apparatus. The cylinder 10 is then rotatedin counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIGURE 1, by handle 30 andlever 26 until guide projection 34 abuts the shoulder 38 remote fromslot 40. The apparatus is then in starting position, ready to receiveanother length of tie wire to be processed.

To anchor the length of tie wire W to the cross pin P of a stake pocketS recessed in the floor of a flat car, the end B of the wire W adjacentthe loop L is first bent around the pin P. Then the end E of the wire isinserted through the loop L. As shown in FIGURE 8, wire end E is thenbent around the remainder of the tie wire and again inserted through theloop L after which tension is applied to the tie wire and it is joinedto another tie wire (not shown) over the top of the load (not shown).The knot so formed, as best shown in FIGURE 9, is prevented fromslipping or drawing down around the pin P by the loop L and the washer Ras tension is applied to the tie wire when it is twisted together with atie wire anchored on the opposite side of the fiat car. Thus, thestrands of the knot will always be accessible for cutting and removalfrom the cross pin P.

While one embodiment of our invention has been shown and described, itwill be apparent that other adaptations and modifications may be madewithout departing from the scope of the following claims.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for forming a loop in a wire and securing it with a ringwhich comprises a base plate, a cylinder having an upper and lower endsunk through said base plate and rotatable therein, spaced bending pinsupstanding from the upper end of said cylinder, said cylinder having acentral bore therethrough, a hook rod reciprocable axially in said boreand normally projecting above said upper end so as to engage a length ofwire laid thereacross, the lower end of the cylinder having a diametralslot, a lever fitted in said slot and pivoted to said cylinder forturning it, a pair of spaced walls upstanding on said base plate onopposite sides of said cylinder, and a link pivoted to said lever andsaid rod for actuating the latter.

2. Apparatus for forming a loop in a wire and securing it with a ring asdefined by claim 1 in which said lever has a portion projecting beyondthe pivotal connection thereof to said cylinder, and a cylindrical walldepends from said base plate and cooperates with said projecting portionto control movement of said lever.

3. Apparatus for forming a loop in a wire and securing it with a ring asdefined by claim 2 in which said wall has abutments limiting angularmovement of said lever in the plane of said base plate and a slotpermitting angular movement of the lever in a plane normal to the baseplate.

4. A method of forming a loop in a wire and applying a ring thereoverwhich comprises placing a ring between two spaced rotatable bendingpins, then placing a length of wire between said pins in overlyingrelation to said ring, then rotating said pins thereby forming a pair ofspaced, substantially right-angled bends in said wire connected by astraight portion, and then pulling said portion through the ring.

5. A method of forming a loop in a wire and applying a ring thereover asdefined by claim 4 including the step of confining the portions of thewire beyond said straight portion while forming said bends.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 685,603 10/1901 Harris -1021,530,455 3/1925 Wright 140102.5 3,050,089 8/1962 Schmidt 140102 CHARLESW. LANHAM, Primary Examiner.

L. A. LARSON, Assistant Examiner.

1. APPARATUS FOR FORMING A LOOP IN A WIRE AND SECURING IT WITH A RINGWHICH COMPRISES A BASE PLATE, A CYLINDER HAVING AN UPPER AND LOWER ENDSUNK THROUGH SAID BASE PLATE AND ROTATABLE THEREIN, SPACED BENDING PINSUPSTANDING FROM THE UPPER END OF SAID CYLINDER, SAID CYLINDER HAVING ACENTRAL BORE THERETHROUGH, A HOOK ROD RECIPROCABLE AXIALLY IN SAID BOREAND NORMALLY PROJECTING ABOVE SAID UPPER END